Obama tells lawakers that the health of the presidency is on line in reform vote -- Panetta talks of secret successes -- Introducing Max George Singer -- The president's NCAA bracket -- Fritz b'dayBy:
MIKE ALLEN
on March 18, 2010 @ 7:42 AM

SIREN – “Obama's pitch: Fate of presidency on the line,” by POLITICO’s Glenn Thrush: “President Barack Obama had exhausted most of his health care reform arguments with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus during a White House meeting last Thursday when he made a more personal pitch that resonated with many skeptics in the room. One caucus member told POLITICO that Obama won him over by ‘essentially [saying] that the fate of his presidency’ hinged on this week’s health reform vote in the House. The member, who requested anonymity, likened Obama’s remarks to an earlier meeting with progressives when the president said a victory was necessary to keep him ‘strong’ for the next three years of his term. Another caucus member, Rep. Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.), said, ‘We went in there already knowing his presidency would be weakened if this thing went down, but the president clearly reinforced the impression the presidency would be damaged by a loss.. … He was subtle, but that was the underlying theme of the meeting — the importance of passing this for the health of the presidency.”

DRIVING THE DAY: President signs jobs bill in Rose Garden at 11:20 a.m.

--TIME cover, “JOBS: Where They Are And how to find them,” by Barbara Kiviat: “The cold truth of the matter … is that there’s not much Washington can do to gin up permanent jobs on such short notice. … The great American job-creation machine always has been and will continue to be private enterprise. … Just 12 out of 384 metropolitan areas ended 2009 with more jobs than they had at the beginning of the year, but more recently, the numbers have been looking better. Over the past six months (through January), 72 cities gained jobs, according to a Moody’s Economy.com analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That may seem like a slow start, but it’s a meaningful one to people being hired in places like Flagstaff, Ariz., Augusta, Ga., and Lansing, Mich. Austin lands on that list too. … Green jobs are hardly the economic cure-all they are often made out to be. They currently account for only about 0.5% of the U.S. workforce, and plenty of the industry’s job growth is likely to happen overseas. China is already the world’s largest manufacturer of solar panels.” Cover image

--WashPost op-ed, “Democrats: Vote your conscience on health care,” by Marjorie Margolies: “Dear wavering House Democrats, I feel your pain. Eighteen years ago, I was elected on the coattails of a popular young Democratic president who promised a post-partisan Washington. A year later, with partisan gridlock capturing the Capitol, there was a razor-thin vote on the House floor over legislation that Democrats said would remake the country and Republicans promised would bankrupt it. … I voted my conscience, and it cost me. I still remember how, after I voted, Bob Walker jumped up and down on the House floor, yelling ‘Bye-bye, Marjorie! … I am your worst-case scenario. And I'd do it all again. In recent days I have become something I never imagined: a verb. I hear that when freshmen enter Congress they are told, ‘We don't want to Margolies-Mezvinsky you.’ I had no idea that when I voted for the Clinton budget, I was writing the first line of my obituary.” The writer, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, is a senior fellow at the Fels Institute of Government and is president of Women's Campaign International.

PANETTA GIVES TWO INTERVIEWS:

--WaPo lead story, “CIA director says secret attacks in Pakistan have hobbled al-Qaeda,” by Joby Warrick and Peter Finn: “Aggressive attacks against al-Qaeda in Pakistan's tribal region have driven Osama bin Laden and his top deputies deeper into hiding and disrupted their ability to plan sophisticated operations, CIA Director Leon Panetta said Wednesday. … He credited improved coordination with Pakistan's government and what he called ‘the most aggressive operation that CIA has been involved in in our history,’ offering a near-acknowledgment of what is officially a secret war. ‘Those operations are seriously disrupting al-Qaeda,’ Panetta said. ‘It's pretty clear from all the intelligence we are getting that they are having a very difficult time putting together any kind of command and control, that they are scrambling.’”

--WSJ p. 1 image, with Panetta photo http://bit.ly/c1ugv6 ... --WSJ A6, “Drone Kills Suspect in CIA Suicide Bombing,” by Siobhan Gorman and Jonathan Weisman: “A Central Intelligence Agency drone strike last week killed a top al Qaeda trainer suspected of being involved in December's suicide bombing that killed seven CIA officers at a base in Afghanistan, U.S. officials say. The March 8 strike on a suspected bomb-making facility in Miran Shah, Pakistan, killed as many as 15 people, including Hussein al-Yemeni, a rising star in the al Qaeda network led by Osama bin Laden, according to people familiar with the strike. In an interview Wednesday, CIA Director Leon Panetta confirmed Mr. al-Yemeni's death. ‘We now believe that al-Yemeni, who was one of the top 20 [al Qaeda leaders], was one of those who was hit,’ Mr. Panetta said. ‘He is somebody who we believe was one of those who was involved in providing the explosives for the Khost attack. … It sent two important signals … No. 1 that we are not going to hesitate to go after them wherever they try to hide, and No. 2 that we are continuing to target their leadership.’”

**A message from University of Phoenix: University of Phoenix is committed to providing an accredited, accountable and accessible higher education to more Americans. Because an Educated World Is a Better World.? Learn more at http://bit.ly/cfsFJF. **

Obama tells lawakers that the health of the presidency is on line in reform vote -- Panetta talks of secret successes -- Introducing Max George Singer -- The president's NCAA bracket -- Fritz b'day

ENDGAME -- Health vote now expected Sunday – POLITICO Pulsemaster Chris Frates: “Insiders were buzzing last night that House Democratic leaders are likely to unveil reconciliation legislation today at an afternoon press conference. And Democrats are expected to release preliminary Congressional Budget Office numbers demonstrating that the bill reduces the deficit. A complete score would hit Friday at the earliest. That could set the House Rules Committee up to meet on Saturday with a House floor vote coming Sunday afternoon. … Dems are still about eight votes shy of 216, but leadership is hopeful that seeing the language and CBO score will begin to change lawmakers’ minds.”

--POLITICO’s Patrick O’Connor: “[N]ot even the speaker knows where those last votes will come from … Either way, all the effort over the next three or four days comes down to moving just four or five votes. … The biggest single bloc of undecided Democrats remains those with reservations about the Senate’s abortion restrictions. … House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said his caucus wants a signed assurance from Senate Democrats that they will stick to an agreement to make certain House-mandated changes to the Senate health care bill. ‘It’s important to get,’ Hoyer said Wednesday. ‘I don’t think you want to move ahead without it, and Sen. [Harry] Reid knows that.’

--“GOP gears up for health bill lawsuits,” by POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein: “The looming Congressional showdown over health care reform has set Washington’s legal war rooms whirring in preparation for court battles over any health legislation that moves towards President Barack Obama’s desk. Republican lawyers say they’re conducting research and drafting arguments for lawsuits that could be filed within days or weeks, particularly if House leaders decide to go forward with a ‘deem & pass’ … Members of Congress are also predicting lawsuits, though it’s unclear whether they will come directly from lawmakers.”

--“Grassley: Jobs bill a boon for banks,” by POLITICO’s David Rogers: “Tough economic times are teaching Democrats this lesson about Wall Street bankers: Can’t live with them, can’t live without ’em. … Just this Tuesday — in a matter of hours — the Senate called up a House-passed bill to tax Wall Street bonuses, then pivoted Wednesday morning to give final approval to a jobs-creation package that includes rich interest subsidies favored by big bond underwriters such as Goldman Sachs. … ‘This is supposed to be a jobs bill, but is more money going to Wall Street or is it going to jobs?’ Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) asked POLITICO. ‘It kind of irritates me that the Democrats are promoting this as a jobs bill and so much money is going to Wall Street. I think we ought to know. It’s kind of a case of transparency and truth in packaging.’”

--PAY TO PLAY -- Donors can literally buy a seat at the table with GOP senators – Nothing new, but this invite is less subtle than usual -- POLITICO’s Ben Smith: “The National Republican Senatorial Committee is offering access to Senators and other top officials for $5,000 and up at a ‘spring meeting’ fundraiser on April 19. A $5,000 contribution from a Political Action Committee -- most PACs are arms of industry lobbying groups -- (plus an additional $250 personal contribution or $500 PAC contribution) buys access to four ‘issue roundtables’ with ‘Senators and industry experts’ … The invitation to the event, which is of a sort traditionally pitched primarily to Washington lobbyists, offers access to Senators focused on four issue areas: national security, the economy, energy, and health care. Individuals may also attend the policy roundtables for $1,000 contributions. The invitation advertises the presence of Senators John Cornyn, Orrin Hatch, and others, as well as Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell. … The lobbyist-dominated fundraiser[s] … frequently draw criticism, and many groups avoid linking access as directly to policy issues as directly as does the NRSC's invitation. … DNC spokesman Hari Sevugan emails: … ‘The GOP is literally willing to sell our most important decisions about keeping our homeland safe and creating jobs for American families to the very industry groups who have sought to block health insurance reform and our financial recovery at every turn. The NRSC should immediately dismantle this sham of an event.”

-- SCOOP -- “Dodd’s Chief Counsel Bought Financial Stocks During 2008 Crisis,” by Bloomberg’s Robert Schmidt: “Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd’s chief counsel in 2008 traded stock in Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo & Co., American International Group Inc. and other rescued companies as the panel considered legislation to address the credit crisis, according to her financial disclosure form filed with the Senate. Amy Friend, 51, who is now leading the panel’s effort to write a bill overhauling Wall Street regulations, bought $1,000- to-$15,000 stakes in four banks, weeks after Dodd hired her in January 2008 … She also owned shares of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG and other insurance firms … The transactions [are] permissible under Senate rules … ‘Amy Friend is one of the fiercest public advocates on Capitol Hill today,’ Dodd said in an e-mailed statement. ‘Her integrity is second to none.’”

--“TSA pick's Iraq work under scrutiny,” by POLITICO’s Kasie Hunt: “President Barack Obama’s pick to head the Transportation Security Administration is under scrutiny for his involvement with a multimillion-dollar military interrogation contract for military prisons in Iraq, a deal the administration did not disclose to Capitol Hill Democrats until Wednesday — and kept secret from Republicans. ‘It’s something that clearly should have been disclosed right upfront because it’s information that members would want to know in assessing Gen. [Robert] Harding’s fitness for the TSA job,’ said Sen. Susan Collins, the top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security Committee. … Obama nominated Harding, a career military intelligence officer who founded Harding Security Associates after he retired from the Army, to the TSA post earlier this month.”

ALSO DRIVING THE CONVO, by Tim Alberta:

---Detroit News, “The inside story of terror on Flight 253,” by Ron French: “After the screams died down and the smoke dissipated, the passenger cabin of Northwest Flight 253 on Christmas Day was eerily quiet. An Indian woman stared out the window at the fast-approaching subdivisions and freeways surrounding Detroit Metro Airport. A businessman frantically texted on his BlackBerry. A scared mother clutched her children. … In Row 1, Melinda Dennis focused on the bare foot of a silent young man across the aisle, the foot flexing up and down slowly as the jet dove toward a runway. Underwear bunched up around the man's ankles, rising and falling with the methodical movement of his foot. A gray blanket covered most of the man's naked legs and groin, but left exposed white and black patches of burned flesh on the side facing Dennis. Flight attendant Dionne Ransom-Monroe leaned over the half-naked man. ‘What did you have in your pants?’ she asked. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab whispered something. The flight attendant leaned closer and asked again. ‘What did you have in your pants?’ ‘Explosive device,’ he said louder, his right foot flexing up and down, up and down. In a series of interviews with The Detroit News, passengers from four continents described details of the attempted terrorist attack never before released to the public. Many never saw what happened, and most didn't realize until hours later that they had shared their Christmas Day flight with a terrorist bent on bringing down the airplane.”

--Reuters, “Clinton in Moscow to push arms treaty, Middle East,” by Arshad Mohammed and Michael Stott: “Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Russia on Thursday hoping to clear obstacles to a new treaty cutting arsenals of nuclear weapons and to win Moscow's backing for tougher sanctions against Iran. … Clinton's 36-hour visit to Russia includes a meeting on Friday of the quartet of Middle East peace mediators -- the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States -- as well as talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on arms control and Iran.”

--L.A. Times lead story, "IRAQI VOTE STRIPS AWAY UNITY: The still-tight race dashes hopes that the nation might conquer its sectarian divide," by Ned Parker, in Baghdad: “With more than 80% of the votes tallied in Iraq's parliamentary elections and the race still neck and neck, hopes that the country might move beyond its deep Shiite-Sunni divide appear to be fading in a stew of sectarian politics. Prime Minister Nouri Maliki … is now falling back on his Shiite Muslim religious identity to position himself against challenger Iyad Allawi, a secular Shiite popular with the minority Sunni Arab population. … If Allawi is defeated in coming negotiations to form a government, it would be seen as a major setback for Sunnis, who have viewed the national elections as a chance to regain some of the privileges lost when Hussein was toppled in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.”

--“Iraq needs US help to beat huge refugee crisis: study,” by AFP’s Karin Zeitvogel: “The United States has a ‘special responsibility’ to help Iraq address a dire humanitarian crisis that sees huge numbers of displaced Iraqis struggle to survive, an aid group said Wednesday. In a report released on the eve of the seventh anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq, Refugees International said 33 percent -- or 500,000 people -- of the 1.5 million internally displaced people forced from their homes in 2006 and 2007 ‘live as squatters in slum areas.’ … The Iraqi government is doing little, if anything, to help the displaced, the report said, urging the United States to step in and take up the slack because it ‘bears special responsibility’ for the looming humanitarian crisis.”

--WaPo A1, “Pakistan charges 5 Northern Virginia men in alleged terrorism plot,” by Jerry Markon, Karin Brulliard and Rizwan Mohammed: “Authorities in Pakistan filed terrorism charges Wednesday against five Northern Virginia men and, for the first time, outlined an extensive plot that included plans to fight U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan and possibly an attack in the United States. The men, who lived and grew up in the Alexandria area, were arrested in Pakistan in December. They were each charged with five counts in a special anti-terror court, three of which carry a possible life prison term. Prosecutors say they were in the planning stages of attacks against a Pakistani nuclear plant and an air base and other targets in Afghanistan and ‘territories of the United States.’ … Ever since the men were arrested at a time of growing concern about homegrown terrorists, there have been questions about whether they are hardened jihadists, as described by Pakistani police, or humanitarians who left the United States to help other Muslims, as they say. Pakistani prosecutors said they concluded the men posed a serious security threat. … The men met in Northern Virginia and worshiped at a Fairfax County mosque.”

--WSJ A3, “Madoff Beaten in Prison,” by Dionne Searcey and Amir Efrati: “Bernard Madoff, who is serving a 150-year sentence in North Carolina … was physically assaulted by another inmate in December, according to three people familiar with the matter. After the attack, Mr. Madoff … was moved on Dec. 18 to the prison's low-security medical center for treatment. At the time, the Bureau of Prisons said that rumors of an assault were false and that Mr. Madoff suffered from dizziness and hypertension. … Mr. Madoff was treated for a broken nose, fractured ribs and cuts to his head and face, according to a felon currently at Butner … Another inmate who recently was released from Butner after serving time on drug charges also confirmed the assault, as did a third person familiar with Mr. Madoff's situation. The former inmate said the dispute centered on money the assailant thought he was owed by Mr. Madoff. The current inmate said Mr. Madoff's assailant was a beefy man serving time for a drug conviction. The alleged assailant's mother said in an interview her son had not mentioned any scuffle with Mr. Madoff but that he had been a body builder and held a black belt in Judo. The Bureau of Prisons said it investigated the incident, a process that included an interview with Mr. Madoff.”

--NYT A1, “Deficit Hawk Returns, Much to His Party’s Dismay,” by Jackie Calmes: “Former Senator Alan K. Simpson, the co-chairman of President Obama’s bipartisan commission for reducing the mounting federal debt … has bigger things to worry about than whether ‘Rush Babe’ and other conservative critics are ‘babbling into the vapors’ that he is not Republican enough for the job. … The Republican Party’s insistence that no real Republican would even consider raising taxes is a big reason that many people believe the president’s panel will never agree by December on a bipartisan multiyear plan to narrow the growing gap between spending and revenues. ‘Alan Simpson’s a great guy, but he’s not going to bring along Republican votes on Capitol Hill,’ said Vin Weber, a former congressman from Minnesota who was part of a younger generation of Reagan-era tax-cutters. ‘He’s always been a Republican that would be willing to raise taxes, but that’s not where today’s Republican Party is.’”

2010 -- "Whitman wealth effect: She suggests she could put her vast holdings in a blind trust. But that would be far from easy," by L.A. Times' Jack Dolan and Evan Halper: “Billionaire gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman has addressed potential conflicts created by her broad holdings in businesses regulated from Sacramento … by suggesting that she would place her entire portfolio in a blind trust if elected. But unloading that political baggage may not be easy. Whitman's vast fortune is spread across scores of carefully guarded funds that function as money harbors for the world's wealthiest individuals, and they can't be liquidated quickly. Experts … say getting out of some of the funds could prove impossible any time soon.”

MEDIAWATCH – “Ailes to the DC Staff: No More Shooting Inside the Tent,” by TV Newser’s Chris Ariens: “Fox News founder and chairman Roger Ailes dropped in to the Washington Bureau this afternoon for an impromptu talk to the troops ahead of [last night’s Radio and Television Correspondents’] dinner. Sources inside the packed newsroom tell TVNewser Ailes started by telling staffers what a great job their doing. ‘I'm very proud of this bureau,’ he said’ ‘[Viewers] used to come to us after the news event now they come to us for the news event as well. I really just want to congratulate you and thank you for that.’ Ailes then turned to the issue of Monday's Washington Post story, in which Howard Kurtz wrote about ‘tension’ over Glenn Beck. ‘There is a deep split within Fox between those who are supportive, and many journalists who are worried about the prospect that Beck is becoming the face of the network,’ wrote Kurtz. … Ailes said, ‘For the first time in our 14 years we've had people apparently shooting in the tent, from within the tent. … Glenn Beck, does his show and that's his opinion. It's not the opinion of FOX News and he has a right to say it. … We prefer people in the tent not dumping on other people in the tent. … I was brought up to defend the family. If I couldn't defend the family I'd leave. I'd go to another family.’ Fox News has spent the most of any network on [last night’s] dinner, buying 34 tables for a grand total of more than $85,000.”

BUSINESS BURST – “Ford Motor Co. shares hit five-year high,” by AP’s Tom Krisher: “Shares of Ford Motor Co. surged to a five-year high Wednesday after a ratings agency upgraded the automaker's debt and said Ford has the potential to improve its finances even further. The Dearborn, Mich., automaker's stock hit $14.15 per share in afternoon trading, a 4.9 percent surge to levels not seen since January 2005.”

** University of Phoenix, Because an Educated World Is a Better World.?

There’s no doubt that better educated Americans create a stronger American workforce. The University of Phoenix mission is to provide an accredited, accountable, accessible education to more people nationwide, including the 38 million Americans with unfinished college degrees. We are proud to be the number-one university for conferring master’s degrees to minorities, and to have a student body that is over two thirds female. Through our innovative learning platform, small class sizes and expanded course offerings in America’s four most needed job areas (technology, nursing, teaching and business), we’re not just preparing more Americans for the jobs of today and tomorrow—we’re working to make our economy more competitive. Learn more about how we see education at http://bit.ly/cfsFJF **

Panetta's personal revenge and fight , asking out the terrorists with headlines in the Washington's post and other papers, may hurt the american people. He is doing a good job, but he doesn't have to advertise it, we know he does.